Night Freight

No one had ever suspected. John Halliday had run off with his wife's beautiful younger sister—that was what everyone believed. Such a terrible tragedy for poor Miranda, they all said. But no one except her could know how terrible it really was to be left all alone with nobody to love except a little dog and fewer and fewer ways in which to atone for her sin.

It would be quite a shock when the citizens of Shady Grove learned the truth. And learn it they must; she had kept the secret too long and she could not carry it with her to her own grave—in the words of the poet Andrew Marvell, that "fine and private place." She had explained everything in the three-page letter; it would be her final act of atonement.

John and Moira knew all about the rope and the letter. Over and over she had told them that one day she must again do what she felt was necessary. Yet they were so reluctant to let her go. She could feel their reluctance now. Selfish. Even in death, they cared only for themselves.

"John," she said, "this is the proper day. Can't you understand how I feel?"

The wind mourned outside.

"Moira? We've hurt each other enough. Isn't it time we were together again?"

The last of the flowers suddenly trembled and broke apart. The earth seemed to tremble, too, as if there were stirrings within. It was only a draft caused by the wind, she knew it could be nothing else, yet it was as if they had caused it. As if they were beseeching and mocking her, saying quite clearly: "You can't leave us, Miranda. Who will tend to us once you're gone? Who will bring flowers and keep the weeds from growing up around us?

"We need you, Miranda. You know that, don't you?"

She did not argue; it never did any good to argue. She sighed and got slowly to her feet. "After all," she said, "I think I will not hang myself today."

She lowered the hinged section, thinking that she must buy fresh flowers to replace the withered ones because it was autumn and there were none left in the garden. But before she called the florist, she would ring up Mrs. Boyer and tell her she would be able to babysit tonight after all.

"Stacked Deck." Copyright © 1987 by Bill Pronzini. First published in The New Black Mask #8.

"Angel of Mercy." Copyright © 1996 by Bill Pronzini. First published in Diagnosis: Terminal.

"Night Freight." Copyright © 1967 by Renown Publications, Inc. Revised version copyright © 1991 by Bill Pronzini. First published in Mike Shayne Mystery Magazine.

"Liar's Dice." Copyright © 1992 by Bill Pronzini. First published in Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine.

"Out Behind the Shed." Copyright © 1991 by Bill Pronzini. First published in Final Shadows.

"Souls Burning." Copyright © 1991 by Bill Pronzini. First published in New Crimes 3.

"Strangers in the Fog." Copyright © 1978 by Bill Pronzini. First published in Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine.

"Peekaboo." Copyright © 1979 by Charles L. Grant. First published in Nightmares.

"Thirst." Copyright © 1973 by Mercury Press, Inc. Revised version copyright © 1988 by Bill Pronzini. First published in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction.

"Wishful Thinking?" Copyright © 1999 by the Pronzini-Muller Family Trust. First published in Irreconcilable Differences.

"Ancient Evil." Copyright © 1993 by Bill Pronzini. First published in The Ultimate Werewolf.

"The Monster." Copyright © 1996 by Bill Pronzini. First published in Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine.

"His Name Was Legion." Copyright © 1978 by Renown Publications, Inc. First Published in Mike Shayne Mystery Magazine.

"Out of the Depths." Copyright © 1994 by Bill Pronzini. First published in Ellery Queen'sMystery Magazine.

"The Pattern." Copyright © 1971 by H. S. D. Publications, Inc. First published in Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine.

"The Rec Field." Copyright © 1979 by Bill Pronzini. First published in Chrysalis 6.

"Deathwatch." Copyright © 1987 by Bill Pronzini. First published in The Mystery Scene Reader.

"Home." Copyright © 2000 by the Pronzini-Muller Family Trust.

"Tom." Copyright © 1992 by Bill Pronzini. First published in Cat Crimes II.

"A Taste of Paradise." Copyright © 1994 by Bill Pronzini. First published in Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine.

"Sweet Fever." Copyright © 1976 by Bill Pronzini. First published in Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine.

"Deathlove." Copyright © 1978 by Charles L. Grant. Revised version copyright © 2000 by the Pronzini-Muller Family Trust. First published in Shadows.

"Black Wind." Copyright © 1979 by Bill Pronzini. First published in Ellery Queen 's Mystery Magazine.

"The Coffin Trimmer." Copyright © 1993 by Bill Pronzini. First published in Touch Wood.

"Funeral Day." Copyright © 1989 by Bill Pronzini. First published in New Crimes.

"I Think I Will Not Hang Myself Today." Copyright © 2000 by the Pronzini-Muller Family Trust. First published in Ellery Queen s Mystery Magazine.